More Fishing

• Fishing: Take a day at the beach
• Fishing: Cold front has cooled things down, but opportunities still abound
• Fishing Report: With temperatures dropping, fish are on the move

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NAPLES — This area’s spring tarpon run is world famous, as the tarpon move in along the coast and up to Boca Grande Pass for the yearly spawn. What many people don’t realize is that there is also a fall migration, and that seems to have started this past week.

Every fall, balls of glass minnows gather along the beaches, and the tarpon move in under them for an easy meal. These fall tarpon are not typically as large as the spring fish, but many are in the 100-pound range, and they are more aggressive. These fish are here to feed and get fat before the winter, and, consequently, they are much more likely to take a bait or lure.

Right now, there are schools of fish in the North Naples area from Wiggins Pass to Sanibel Island, and more tarpon schooled south of Marco Island from Round Key all the way to Flamingo. These Ten Thousand Islands tarpon are congregating in the river and creek mouths on the outgoing tide, and it seems that the further south that you go, the more and the bigger the fish. This weekend, the area from Lostmans River to the Broad River should be very productive.

How long these tarpon will remain in the area is uncertain. Tarpon are an unpredictable species, but most likely, there will be good tarpon fishing right up until the first strong cold front pushes them offshore.

NAPLES: Whether it be because of the economy or the time of the year, there are very few boats going offshore, and this a shame, according to Capt. Tommy Robinson of the charter boat Sea Legs, because the fishing is phenomenal. Robinson fished a half-day trip just five miles offshore last week, and his party managed to land legal red grouper, jumbo lane snapper, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and sharks. There were also plenty of Spanish and king mackerel in the area. The mackerel were feeding on the surface.

Robinson said that bait is easy to find and that the fish are in close. Even on a half-day trip, anglers can enjoy constant action and a variety of fish from grouper and snapper to barracuda and sharks, while consistently returning to the dock with a cooler full of dinner.

MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Stacy Mullendore reported that the fishing this past weekend was a bit tougher than it had been the previous few weeks, probably because of the extremely low tides. Mullendore participated in the Redsnook Fishing Tournament and caught numerous snook, but most were smaller fish, measuring between 20 and 29 inches. Mullendore did manage to land three large redfish, but the redfish were scarce, particularly on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Mullendore guided Kenny Richie and Jack Ely. The tides were a bit better, and they caught a 30-pound tarpon, several snook and two large sea trout. Mullendore said that the bait has now moved further south, and the trout fishing, in particular, has become much better. The trout are gathered beneath the pods of bait on the grass beds.

EVERGLADES CITY: Capt. Shane Miller had a good day on Saturday when his party boated snook measuring 34-, 29- and 28-inches, plus a 48-inch tarpon. However, he could not find any redfish, which was surprising since for the past three weeks, redfish were all that Miller was catching.

Earlier in the week, Miller fished for tarpon far to the south of Everglades City and said that there were tarpon all along the beaches, outside points and river mouths. On one trip, he hooked six large fish on light tackle in one river. Miller expects these tarpon to stay in the area for the next few weeks.

NORTH NAPLES/WIGGINS PASS: Capt. Terry Davis had a great week of fishing last week, but said that it slowed considerably on Tuesday. The snook fishing has been better in Estero Bay than it has all summer, and the redfishing remains consistent. There are also big tarpon working the schools of bait off Fort Myers Beach, and schools of cobia out on the wrecks. On one trip, Davis’s son, Eric, landed 13 cobia in less than three hours.

Davis said that there is bait everywhere; white bait along the beaches, pinfish in the bay, and thread herring offshore. All of this bait is sparking the fishing, both offshore and in the back bays.

FRESHWATER: Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box said that there was very little change in the freshwater fishing. The waters remain high, perhaps even higher in certain areas, and the largemouth bass fishing is relatively poor, while the peacock bass fishing is good in the Golden Gate City canals. Snook and tarpon are still being caught in the canal along Immokalee Road, and there are panfish in all of the usual areas.

Edwards said that if he really wanted to catch bass right now, he would fish the lakes. The water is high and there are plenty of frogs along the banks, so a frog imitation lure is best early in the morning. A slow-moving worm will be more effective later in the day.